Monday, May 12, 2008
True Italia
I had the neatest experience today. I went to a town just outside of Naples called Sorrento. I took a bus, and when I got on, I was the only one. As we pulled out of the bus station, I asked the bus driver, in Italian, "Solo io?" Which means, "Just me?" He laughed and said yes, and then we proceeded to talk, IN ITALIAN for the next hour and 10 minutes. I couldn't believe how well I was doing. He repeatedly told me how good my Italian was, although I know he was just being nice. It's very broken, elementary Italian, but I know now that it is more than enough to let me talk for an hour! It was great, we talked about everything from family, to friends, to where I have been in Europe, to why I liked Italy and what my future plans were. He was so nice too- I didn't feel nervous talking to him at all, like I do with some of the Italian men. He told me that he liked it when I smiled because he said, motioning with his hands, my whole face smiles and my eyes crinkle up. That's the Italian flirt for you though, they're pretty much all going to say something like that. But you know what? I'm ok with it. So we had a great time talking, and when I got off the bus, he said, Tina, the pleasure has been all mine (in italian!) and he waved goodbye heartedly. Such a great experience!!!!
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Granada
We went to Granada and did 2 things:
1) went to a hammam. (Turkish bath.) this was glorious but no pictures allowed.
2) Alhambra. Amazing, and definitely worth the 3 hour wait in line. We were one of the last people to get tickets!
Jackie and I were pretty excited to finally get inside
This was all over
gorgeous mosaics
In the beautiful gardens of the Alhambra
there was amazing detail in everything. Literally the entire ceiling and all the walls were covered
jump jump jump
im tired. i'll post more later.
1) went to a hammam. (Turkish bath.) this was glorious but no pictures allowed.
2) Alhambra. Amazing, and definitely worth the 3 hour wait in line. We were one of the last people to get tickets!
Jackie and I were pretty excited to finally get inside
This was all over
gorgeous mosaics
In the beautiful gardens of the Alhambra
there was amazing detail in everything. Literally the entire ceiling and all the walls were covered
jump jump jump
im tired. i'll post more later.
Oh I went to Spain too
Barcelona was my favorite of the cities we went to in Spain. Great, laid back feel to it. But the food sucked. It made me miss Italy. Especially the pizzas! Buuuuut it had great artwork by Antonio Gaudi. My favorite was Park Guell, followed by the Sagrada Familia. We saw two other buildings he designed, and they were neat, but I didn't like them as much.
The entrance of Park Guell. This whole park was designed by Gaudi and is filled with mosaics.
close up on the benches.
Me with a lizard!
In Park Guell still (it was huge.) See the mosaic in the back?? That's Italian for hello! Hence the wave...
At the top of Park Guell, overlooking the city. We could see the tops of the Sagrada Familia peaking over the rest of the town.
more park guell. this reminded me of termite mounds. but it was cool...
Jackie and me at the top!
The Sagrada Familia, the church that was supposed to be Gaudi's masterpiece. He died though while it was still under construction. Well, it STILL is under a lot of construction, but they're trying to build it as much according to his original plan as possible. It is the wierdest looking church I've ever been to but it is just fantastic. So simple, but so complex. Reminded me a lot of the drip castles Rebecca and Rachel and I used to make on the beach!
Gadjo- a sweet band we heard playing on the beach the first day. They were fantastic!
Everyone rode these bikes around town.
There is a main street in town called Las Ramblas, and it is basically a fun filled pedestrian mall. Shops, street performers, and pickpockets. Watch out! We didn't get stuff stolen, but a lot of people we talked to did. This old lady liked this street performer a lot. Look how cute she is!
The entrance of Park Guell. This whole park was designed by Gaudi and is filled with mosaics.
close up on the benches.
Me with a lizard!
In Park Guell still (it was huge.) See the mosaic in the back?? That's Italian for hello! Hence the wave...
At the top of Park Guell, overlooking the city. We could see the tops of the Sagrada Familia peaking over the rest of the town.
more park guell. this reminded me of termite mounds. but it was cool...
Jackie and me at the top!
The Sagrada Familia, the church that was supposed to be Gaudi's masterpiece. He died though while it was still under construction. Well, it STILL is under a lot of construction, but they're trying to build it as much according to his original plan as possible. It is the wierdest looking church I've ever been to but it is just fantastic. So simple, but so complex. Reminded me a lot of the drip castles Rebecca and Rachel and I used to make on the beach!
Gadjo- a sweet band we heard playing on the beach the first day. They were fantastic!
Everyone rode these bikes around town.
There is a main street in town called Las Ramblas, and it is basically a fun filled pedestrian mall. Shops, street performers, and pickpockets. Watch out! We didn't get stuff stolen, but a lot of people we talked to did. This old lady liked this street performer a lot. Look how cute she is!
Cinque Terre is heaven on earth
WOW. Anyone reading this needs to stop and buy a plane ticket to Cinque Terre and see it for yourself. The pictures don't even begin to do it justice. I have seen beautiful water in Greece and Belize before, but this is entirely different and I think might be my favorite place I've ever been to.
The Cinque Terre are 5 small towns perched on the edge of the cliffs of northern Italy. The people are amazingly friendly, and all the locals from the towns know each and every resident. We could tell this by the way they greeted each other on the trains running to and from each town. The 5 towns are connected by rail, road, and trail. We hiked the coastal trail that runs from the first town, Riomaggiore, to the last one, Monterosso. My favorite town of the 5 was the 4th one, Vernazza. To me, it was the quaintest of the towns and the one that best fit my idealized Italy. After 4 months of experiencing a very nice Italy, but one that did NOT meet my initial expectations, it was nice to know that there really were places like the ones in my mind here as well.
This is what we saw when we first stepped off the train. It was good to be back in Italy :)!!!!
.loving life.
View from the trail as we hiked.
Happy in the Cinque Terre
Vernazza. This one was my favorite town! I thought it was the cutest. Great amazing wonderful splendid views. To the right: a mountain of grape vines and stunning cliffs. To the left: endless Mediterranean. I kind of wanted to stay forever.
Close up of the rocks on the beach. They reminded me of Lake McDonald rocks, mom! I thought of you :)
Beautiful flowers along the trail
We followed the signs...
and they led to this! Amazing, calm cove. SO much fun to swim in. The water was so clear we could see the schools of fish swimming near us. And this water was SALTY. I accidentally went in with my watch on and was picking salt off for hours. But, because it was so salty, I felt really light in the water and wasn't afraid to swim out farther. This was definitely worth it- because it was so so so clear for a really long way out into the sea!
Vernazza.
A pirate cove!
I'm not sure which town this is.
Jackie enjoying some fresh fruit on the trail.
Getting ready to basically repell to the free beach. It was so steep we really had to use the rope or else we would have fallen!
Ahhhhh mazing
Wobbly bridge on the hike. Chaz, I had nobby knees! Jackie and I had a re-enactment for you :)
It looked so good I wanted to drink it.
Thats all for this one.... see you all in 5/6 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Cinque Terre are 5 small towns perched on the edge of the cliffs of northern Italy. The people are amazingly friendly, and all the locals from the towns know each and every resident. We could tell this by the way they greeted each other on the trains running to and from each town. The 5 towns are connected by rail, road, and trail. We hiked the coastal trail that runs from the first town, Riomaggiore, to the last one, Monterosso. My favorite town of the 5 was the 4th one, Vernazza. To me, it was the quaintest of the towns and the one that best fit my idealized Italy. After 4 months of experiencing a very nice Italy, but one that did NOT meet my initial expectations, it was nice to know that there really were places like the ones in my mind here as well.
This is what we saw when we first stepped off the train. It was good to be back in Italy :)!!!!
.loving life.
View from the trail as we hiked.
Happy in the Cinque Terre
Vernazza. This one was my favorite town! I thought it was the cutest. Great amazing wonderful splendid views. To the right: a mountain of grape vines and stunning cliffs. To the left: endless Mediterranean. I kind of wanted to stay forever.
Close up of the rocks on the beach. They reminded me of Lake McDonald rocks, mom! I thought of you :)
Beautiful flowers along the trail
We followed the signs...
and they led to this! Amazing, calm cove. SO much fun to swim in. The water was so clear we could see the schools of fish swimming near us. And this water was SALTY. I accidentally went in with my watch on and was picking salt off for hours. But, because it was so salty, I felt really light in the water and wasn't afraid to swim out farther. This was definitely worth it- because it was so so so clear for a really long way out into the sea!
Vernazza.
A pirate cove!
I'm not sure which town this is.
Jackie enjoying some fresh fruit on the trail.
Getting ready to basically repell to the free beach. It was so steep we really had to use the rope or else we would have fallen!
Ahhhhh mazing
Wobbly bridge on the hike. Chaz, I had nobby knees! Jackie and I had a re-enactment for you :)
It looked so good I wanted to drink it.
Thats all for this one.... see you all in 5/6 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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